Christmas 2002

The time has come yet again to take stock of the Nelson family. How quickly it comes around. The year 2002 was a quiet and peaceful year in the Nelson family household. We didn’t really do much this year, other than house projects. The most exciting and eventful news is that we are expecting our third child, a boy due in early March.

Now that we have reached the update section of the letter, perhaps we should start with the smallest of the Nelson family members, for which this has been quite a memorable year. Some of you might be expecting an update on Cal, our youngest. But no, that comes later. Others are probably anticipating a discussion about the new addition to the Nelson family. That is a bit premature. I want to talk about Goldie, our goldfish. In August we moved Goldie from her small cramped goldfish bowl to a spacious new 5-gallon tank, fully equipped with rocks, toys, and a water filter. Yes, 2002 has been kind to Goldie and she is thankful.

Our youngest son, Cal, turned 3 in September. He is a very intelligent and active little boy. Cal presently attends Saint Francis preschool two days each week and he and Laura like it very much. Cal has honed his interest in trains and has shown an affinity for Thomas the Tank Engine. In fact, he had a Thomas Birthday party and was Thomas for Halloween. On his birthday, he received several trains from the Thomas collection and he is looking forward to receiving Mavis and Percy, in case Santa is listening.

Margaret is in kindergarten at Dove elementary.  She loves being a Dove Dolphin and has adapted to school very well. She has lots of friends and likes to play with them as often as possible. Recently, she just completed her first, and possibly, last season of soccer. She says she likes it, but she is not sure she wants to play it again. Instead, she wants to focus on her other two activities, Daisy Girl Scouts and ballet. Margaret takes ballet every week in the spring and fall. I believe she likes it because she gets to wear pink from head to toe. Margaret is also doing very well in her reading. It is amazing how much farther along she is that when I was 6 years old.

Laura is doing well. Being pregnant, she is slowed down a bit. There were some early complications in the pregnancy that elevated our stress levels, but everything has settled down and we are in the middle of an ordinary pregnancy. This year, Laura is the president of the local Mother’s group at Saint Francis Catholic Church. This usually keeps her busy looking for speakers for the monthly meetings and organizing other logistics. She enjoys the work and the friendships she has formed through the group. She is room mother for Cal’s preschool class and also spends a fair amount of time volunteering at Dove Elementary, much to the delight of Margaret. She is also organizing the Vacation Bible School program for next summer at Saint Francis Church. Pray for her sanity.

Cyle is also doing well. For me, it has been a rather uneventful year. I am still working with Adept Technology. Though the economy has been quite stressful this year, I am still gainfully employed and enjoy what I am doing. Other than that, my life has been filled with house projects, most notably painting the entire inside of our house and buying, sanding and staining wood furniture. That has kept me quite busy and that is good.

In closing, we hope that each of you has a peaceful and safe holiday season. We hope that 2002 has been kind to you and look forward to seeing all of you in 2003.

 

Best Regards,

 

Cyle, Laura, Margaret, Cal, and Goldie